G'Day Mate!

Let's put another shrimp on the barby!  Kylee and I just returned from a 10 day trip to Melbourne and Sydney, Australia.  I had port visits there, and Kylee was able to find reasonable plane tickets to fly down and join.

The Melbourne city lights

Kylee flew down with her friend Charlotte, who is married to another pilot on my detachment.  They had several adventures on their own, including scrambling for a last minute visa, and an international flight that didn't offer any free drinks or food!

I did not expect the temperature in Australia, especially Melbourne.  Of course, it was winter in the southern hemisphere, but that doesn't really sink in when you're dealing with 90+ degrees in Japan, with high humidity.  Luckily, I had packed a jacket with my civilian clothes, and Kylee was nice enough to also bring another light jacket for me.  Sydney was about 15 degrees warmer than Melbourne though, so I was able to wear some shorts.

We did too much to write about everything here, but I'll try to hit some of the highlights:

The Redcoat's are coming!
Oh, wait. . .

Scrub, scrub, scrub!

Melbourne: Walking along the Yarra River and the South Bank Promenade, going to the highest public viewing point in the southern hemisphere (88th floor of Eureka Skydeck), touring Cook's cottage, getting dressed up all fancy and then eating at a burger joint, and seeing the grand cathedrals like St Paul's and St Patrick's.  We also visited the Old Melbourne Gaol, where Kylee enjoyed being treated like an inmate being put through processing, and learning about the history of many famous Australian criminals.

Sydney: Going for runs through the Botanical Gardens and across the Sydney Harbor Bridge, walking through the bars and restaurants of The Rocks, touring the government house of New South Wales, and course going to an opera (Don Pasquale) at the famous Sydney Opera House.  We also took a train to Blacktown and visited a wildlife park, where we got to pet wallabies, koalas, kangaroos, and echidnas!

It was an amazing trip, and we thank God for giving us the opportunity to experience another country's sights and culture.

The Don

More pictures can be seen at the following link:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10100599448098121.1073741828.12004504&type=1&l=4bab6ef41e